Top 10 Most Unusual Animals in the World

Did you know that most of the planet’s most unusual animals are endangered species? How many kinds of dies each hour, day, year? If not – read the post until the end.

10. shoebill (lat. Balaeniceps rex)

Shoebill or royal heron – a very large bird. Its height averages 1.2 m, 2.3 m wingspan and weighs 4-7 kg. It lives in the tropical swamps of eastern Africa. Resembling a huge beak shoe allows kitoglavu skillfully catches fish. The same bird beak prevents produce any other food.

Kitoglava eyes are located in front of the skull rather than on both sides as in the majority of birds, it allows him to see all three-dimensional.

Kitoglavy – rare birds, their population is about 10 thousand. Man destroys the habitat of these birds and ruining their nests. Species listed in the Red Book. Shoebill was opened in 1849, less than a year he has already been scientifically described.

9. Glass Frog (lat. Centrolenidae)

Glass frog – a family of tailless amphibians. At first glance, it seems that these perfectly ordinary frog. But if you look at their bellies, you can understand why they are called glass. Through the bellies of frogs can be seen all the internal organs. The skin on her stomach they clear.

The first Europeans discovered these frogs in 1872 in Ecuador. Prestaviteley this family can be found in the northwestern part of South America, Central America, and in several other areas of South America.

Currently, more than 150 described species of glass frogs. Glass frog usually not very large, their size ranges from 3 to 7.5 centimeters. Live frogs are usually the trees in the mountain forests, and only during the breeding season to reach the water. Glass frogs lay their eggs on the leaves of trees or shrubs that grow directly over the water, although one of the species more attractive to lay eggs are stones near waterfalls.

Anyway, hardly tadpoles hatch from the eggs, they immediately fall into the water from a height and more live and develop in water.

8. Platypus (lat. Ornithorhynchus anatinus)

Platypus – one of the most intriguing animals in the world. The platypus is the only modern representative of the family utkonosovyh. The platypus is classified as mammals. This is a unique animal characters from Australia. The platypus is depicted on the reverse of 20 Australian cents.

Platypus was first discovered in the 18th century during the colonization of New South Wales. At that time it was defined as “animal amphibian of the family of moles.”

In England platypus hide brought for the first time in 1797, when an unusual animal caused fierce debate in the scientific community. First, the skin felt fake taxidermy. But doubt was able to dispel George Shaw, who researched the skin for the presence of stitches and did not find them. He gave the name of a new species in 1799.

Platypus – poisonous mammal. Males have spurs on their hind legs, from which during the mating season, produce toxins. Platypus venom can kill a small animal, not human. In humans, it causes severe pain and swelling at the injection site is formed, which spread to the entire limb.

7. Tapir (lat. Tapirus)

Tapirs – herbivores of the order Perissodactyla, resembling in appearance a pig with a trunk.

The average sizes of tapirs – the length of about 2 meters, height of about one meter, the weight of 100-300 kg. Earlier, tapirs are very common, but only 5 species remains today. Tapirs are widespread in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.

Despite the large number of predators that feed tapirs, tapir main enemy is man. Hunting for tapirs for meat and skin significantly reduced their population. Tapirs are threatened with extinction. Tapirs are listed in the Red Book.

6. Fantastic listohvosty gecko (lat. Uroplatus phantasticus)

This is an amazing creation lives in Madagascar’s forests. It is quite difficult to observe because the body shape and color of it looks like a dry leaf. For the red eyes of certain individuals, they were called – fi or satanic geckos. Habitat of this species – the north and center of Madagascar.

Body length of adults 9-14 cm, most of which takes a long flat tail like a leaf. Color gecko can vary from gray and brown to green and yellow.

For the first time this species of gecko was discovered in 1888 by the Belgian naturalist George Albert Bulendzherom.

View is endangered due to uncontrolled capture and destruction of their natural habitat.

5. Star-nosed mole (lat. Condylura cristata)

Star-nosed mole, or zvezdoryl very unusual mammal that lives in North America. On the muzzle at the star-nosed mole twenty-two skin build-up in the shape of a star. Such a nose adapted for digging of underground tunnels and works perfectly as an organ of touch. Rays of the nose move very quickly, checking for edibility of all objects in its path.

The animals swim very well, and find food not only on land but also in water. They mostly feed on worms, molluscs, larvae, small crustaceans.

Natural enemies of the star-nosed mole: owls and other birds of prey, weasels and skunk. Human activity has greatly reduced the natural range of star-nosed mole. However, the star-nosed mole is not related to rare endangered species.

4. Leafy Seadragon (lat. Phycodurus eques)

Leafy Seadragon, or rag-picker – luchepёryh species of marine fish of the family of a needle. The body length can reach 35 cm. A distinctive feature of the fish are numerous flat translucent processes that mimic the thallus algae. These processes need to conceal from the enemy.

Rag-pickers move using pectoral and dorsal fins. These small fins are almost completely transparent, they were swaying very frequently (up to 10 times per second), providing dimensional wiggle fish on the waves, creating the illusion of floating seaweed. Maximum travel speed – up to 150 m / h.

It lives in the south-east and south-west coast of Australia in the Indian Ocean. Typically, they are found in shallow water at depths of 4 to 30 m.

It feeds on plankton, mysids, algae. Rag-pickers are under threat of destruction due to industrial emissions, and also becomes an instance of the collections of amateur divers. Taken under the protection of the Australian government.

No. 3. Australian Echidna (lat. Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Australian Echidna – kind of egg-laying mammals echidna family. The only member of the genus echidnas. Australian Echidna was first described in 1792 by an English zoologist George Shaw, who also gave the name to mind mistakenly added to anteaters. After 10 years, Edward Home found at the echidna and platypus similarities – the cloaca, on the basis of this discovery and has been isolated detachment of monotremes.

Short-beaked echidna is found in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and the islands in Bass Strait.

Externally, the viper is most similar to a hedgehog – her whole body covered with coarse stiff hairs, and the sides and back bristling with long, 5 – 6 cm needles are yellow with black tips. The length of the short-beaked echidna grows up to 50 cm, while keeping the weight up to 7 kg. The tail and ears are so small that practically invisible.

The muzzle from vipers very elongated, up to 7.5 cm in length, and plays an extremely important role in the life of the animal, as the vision he is weak, and the environment is known mainly through the sense of smell and hearing. The mouth, which is a very small hole in the end faces, has no teeth, but it fits sticky tongue, having a length of 25 cm. With the help of this tool viper earn their food, which consists of termites, ants, worms and other small insects, what looks like a giant anteater. The powerful front legs equipped with claws allow it to destroy the walls of termite mounds, and then the course is language. Australian vipers are nocturnal, and very secretive.

Its main defense – thorns; Worried viper rolled into a ball like a hedgehog, and if you have time, partially buried in the ground, putting his back to the enemy with their needles. Pull out of the dug pit viper is very difficult, because it strongly rests on feet and needles. Australian Echidna is common in Australia and Tasmania, and does not belong to an endangered species. Echidna tolerate keeping in captivity, but not multiply. Get offspring Australian echidna managed only five zoos

2. Yeti Crab (lat. Kiwa hirsuta)

Kiwa hirsuta or “yeti crab” was first discovered in 2005 at a depth of 2228 m in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean in 1500 kilometers from Easter Island.

The expedition led by Robert Vreyenhuka and Michel Segonzac during dives aboard the manned submersible Alvin several times seen these large white crayfish around active hydrothermal vents.

15 centimeters cancer body covered pinnate numerous bristles that contain filamentous bacteria, cleaning water against toxic compounds for cancer and may serve as food for him.

1. Fish-Drop (lat. Psychrolutes marcidus)

Fish-drop – one of the most bizarre deep-water ocean fish, is endemic to Australia. It lives at depths of 600 to 1,200 meters off the coast of Australia.

Fish-droplet size of about 30 – 35 cm (60). fish, jelly-like body drops and watery, so it got its name. A fish is not well-developed muscles, it floats gaping jaws, or sitting in one place and swallows small invertebrates. View poorly understood. Despite the unpresentable appearance, Asians believe meat and fish delicacy drops.

It is threatened by the expansion of deep-sea fishing, as it increasingly comes across the network along with the crabs and lobsters.

The structure of the front part of the head gives the impression that the fish are constantly frowns and has a miserable “expression”, which is why fish is ranked first in the rankings of the most strange creatures. Because of the unusual shape of the fish has become a popular internet meme character and is often included in lists of “most bizarre creatures.”

Really amazing and bizarre animals in the world much longer, but it is impossible to put them all in one small rating.

Every hour extinct approximately 3 species every day – more than 70 every year – more than 26 thousand.